In Need of Real Life Breastfeeding Support

When I was younger I asked my mom if I could go to a dance with some friends.

"No," she told me, probably with some sort of explanation I can't recall.

"But all of them are going!"

And you can probably guess her response to that...

"If all of your friends were jumping off a bridge, would you jump too?"

It's the classic "mom" response. We've all heard it at some time in our lives, and we'll use it ourselves when addressing our own children someday. But sometimes I find myself reciting those same words when I catch my mind drifting into the same mentality of watching what my friends are doing.

My "breastfeeding posse" as I call some personal friends I know in real life, who are also nursing their babies, haven't always been my go-to people for breastfeeding advice, but they are nice to bounce ideas and stories off of when I just need someone to who gets it to chat with. But they're beginning to wean their babies. One mom's daughter is over a year, and the other's is my daughter's age.

It's funny how I've gone from an "if it works it works" attitude to a "I MUST breastfeed for a year" mindset. But losing my posse makes it a little more difficult.

Breastfeeding support means a lot. I have a lot of support online but real life support, to me, makes all of the difference. Knowing that people like you, people you see and talk to every day are going through what you're going through makes it a little easier.

I'm not considering weaning my daughter earlier just because my friends are weaning now, but I am considering finding a new support group.

At my church there are women I talk to who nurse in the mother's lounge with me throughout the service. Most of the women in my postnatal yoga class breastfeed their babies. In fact, many of us do so throughout the class. But it's not the same as people I see every day, or people I'm close with.

Not everyone needs a group of friends who are also breastfeeding to feel more at ease about doing it, but as a first generation breastfeeder, I feel like I need all the support I can get.

I'm thinking of joining the local La Leche League group to widen my scope of breastfeeding support, to make more friends, but most of all to openly talk to other women about the ups and downs of nursing. The challenges of waking up in the middle of the night when you have work the next day, the biting, and feeling overwhelmingly needed constantly.

I looked up the meeting time and I think I'll go. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes! In the meantime, please share who your breastfeeding posse is!

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